Customer Reviews

Moments to Remember

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Green Hill Productions presents "MOMENTS TO REMEMBER: Timeless Pop Hits Of The 1950s", featuring the Beegie Adair Trio, whose members include Beegie on piano, drummer Chris Brown, a veteran of the Maynard Ferguson ensemble, and bassist Roger Spencer, who has played with the Les Brown Band, Ray Conniff, the Page Cavanaugh Trio and Pete Jolly. They are, she says, my main guys. They're so tuned into the way I visualize music that its effortless to play with them.

Beegie Adair one of the best kept secrets around...but the word, or should we say music is getting out there --- if you haven't discovered Beegie Adair yet, you don't know what you've been missing --- About her music Adair says, "Falling in love with jazz is like falling in love with a person, except with jazz you never get over it." --- Once in a while a musician comes along with impeccable technique, deep understanding of the jazz repertoire, an innate tendency to swing and the rare ability to communicate the heart and soul of a tune to listeners. That musician is Beegie Adair.

This was the music we listened to when growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, every station had them playing at the swimming pools, teen towns and on the home radios --- Those were the days my friends when things were simple and everyone was happy and carefree --- Beegie and the guys capture those times when we were young and just starting out in life --- Memories come back with a baker's dozen of tunes that we can once again enjoy.

Moments To Remember:Timeless Pop Hits of the 1050s - (track listings, time and composers)

1. SECRET LOVE - [3:12] - (written in 1953 with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster. Its first performance was in the film Calamity Jane by Doris Day. It received an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Doris Day also recorded the best-selling record of the song)

2. BECAUSE OF YOU - [3:43] - (was written by Arthur Hammerstein and Dudley Wilkinson a recording by Tony Bennett recorded April 4, 1951 -- was the first major hit for him, reaching number one on the Billboard magazine charts and staying there for 10 weeks)

3. CANADIAN SUNSET - [3:42] - (written by Eddie Heywood with lyrics by Norman Gimbel. An instrumental version by Hugo Winterhalter and the writer Eddie Heywood reached #2 on the Billboard chart in 1956. A version sung by Andy Williams was also popular that year, reaching #7 on the Billboard chart)

4. MISTY - [3:25] - (written in 1954 by the pianist Erroll Garner. Originally composed as an instrumental following the traditional 32-bar format, the tune later had lyrics by Johnny Burke and became the signature song of Johnny Mathis, reaching #12 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart in 1959. It has been covered numerous times, perhaps most notably by Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan (1959)

5. OLD CAPE COD - [2:59] - (written by Claire Rothrock, Milton Yakus, and Allan Jeffrey, and published in 1957. The recording by Patti Page was released by Mercury Records as catalog number 71101; flip side "Wondering." It first reached the Billboard magazine charts on June 3, 1957. On the Disk Jockey chart, it peaked at #3; on the Best Seller chart, at #8; on the composite chart of the top 100 songs)

6. STRANGER IN PARADISE - [3:58] - ( a popular song from the 1953 musical Kismet and is credited to Robert Wright and George Forrest. Like all the music in that show, the melody was based on music composed by Alexander Borodin, in this case, the "Gliding Dance of the Maidens," from the Polovetsian Dances. Richard Kiley and Doretta Morrow (Man of La Mancha and King and I) performed the song in the original cast of Kismet. Vic Damone and Ann Blyth performed the song in the 1955 film. The most popular was recorded 1954 by Tony Bennett)

7. NEVERTHELESS - [3:09] - (written by Harry Ruby with lyrics by Bert Kalmar, first published in 1931. The song was recorded by Bing Crosby and by Rudy Vallée in 1931, and was revisited in 1950 by The Mills Brothers)

8. HEY THERE - [4:01] - (From the musical play "The Pajama Game", written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. It was published in 1954. It was subsequently recorded by a number of artists. The recording by Rosemary Clooney reached #1 on Billboard's chart in 1954. Another version was also recorded about the same time by Sammy Davis, Jr., reaching #16 on Billboard)

9. TEACH ME TONIGHT - [3:34] - (written by Gene De Paul, the lyrics by Sammy Cahn published in 1953. The biggest hit version of the song was recorded by The DeCastro Sisters, charting in 1954)

10. SO RARE - [2:51] - (Jimmy Dorsey was awarded a gold record for "So Rare," which was recorded on November 11, 1956)

11. TRYING - [3:29] - (written by Billy Vaughn published in 1958)

12. YOU BELONG TO ME - [3:04] - (credited to three writers: Pee Wee King, Redd Stewart, and Chilton Price. Jo Stafford became the most popular version. Issued by Columbia Records it was Stafford's greatest hit, topping the charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom (the first song by a female singer to top the UK chart). It first entered the US chart on August 1, 1952 and remained there for 24 weeks)

13. MOMENTS TO REMEMBER - [2:42] - (written by Robert Allen, the lyrics by Jimmy Arnold published in 1955. Recorded by The Four Lads on June 21, 1955 reached the Billboard magazine charts on September 3, 1955)

Stand up and take a bow Jack Jezzro (producer), Greg Howard (executive producer) --- recorded and mixed by Brandon Harkin at Wildwood Recording, Brentwood, Tennessee and mastered by Mike Haynes of 440 Digital, Nashville, TN --- after 13 tracks it does leave you wanting more --- and we know they'll be more down the road --- if you enjoyed this album, why do not try another new release "In A Sentimental Mood" (Green Hill 5563) featuring The Beegie Adair Trio --- relive the romantic songs of Duke Ellington with a smooth blend of instrumental jazz --- just the way we like it ... THE BEEGIE ADAIR TRIO!

Total Time: 44:14 on 13 Tracks ~ Green Hill 5591 ~ (4/21/2009)

If you like nice, mellow background piano music, you'll love this CD. This is also a great CD to relax to, bring down your stress level. Beegie Adair is a fine pianist and has such a nice touch. You will not be sorry for getting this CD. Very, very nice music to the ears.

I stumbled upon this today. What a find! It is truly a joy to listen to accomplished musicians. Every composition here is spellbinding in its clarity and emotion. I'm hooked. I was concerned when listening to the samples that I would tire of the "sound" of a trio, but the intimacy and style is polished and sufficiently complex to keep one's ears tuned and enjoyment level high.

Whenever I hear any of Beegie Adair's music I am always delighted. They bring back memories of ballroom dancing and also the time my dearly beloved parents heard their first Beegie Adair CD and got up and danced in their family room. THAT is the impact we had with this lady and her great trio.
Buy anyone and you too will wanna dance !!

Good intro into jazz without the pompous skat some modern artist gets carried away with. Nice crisp tunes. Good variety of tunes to ease into relaxation. A definite disc to have while driving home to unwind with.

this is an absolutely great cd if you like piano music. B G is great listening and does a great job of entertaining and also soothing music. we just love her music. the songs on this cd are all great and songs we really enjoy. you can't go wrong with this one. I am sure any of her cd's would be great. The price on amazon is a terrific price. they usually have the best prices, I have found.

I feel you can't go wrong by purchasing this CD. Beegie is a great pianist and is the type music you would find at a great restaurant or high-classed restaurant.

Although they are all Xmas tunes, this can be played anytime of the year. Well done as usual by Beegie.

I just discovered Beegie Adair. Where have I been? Ms. Adair is a very listenable jazz pianist, with some pleasant surprises on this album. But first, what this album is not: If you are expecting the definitive jazz statement on some pop standards, this is not it. If you are expecting technical jazz pyrotechnics, a la Oscar Peterson, this isn't that, either. As others have noted about Ms. Adair, it would also be a mistake to dismiss this album as just some pleasant easy listening elevator music. That can happen pretty readily because this album is just so pleasant to listen to. However, beneath the pleasantness is some serious jazz playing. I liken Ms. Adair's piano-playing to Doris Day's singing. It's easy to dismiss Ms. Day's jazz chops because she made it sound just so smooth and effortless. Same with Ms. Adair.

The choices for this album, mostly 1950's pop and show tunes, may also lead the listener to think that it is just schlock, but it is most certainly not. In fact, Ms. Adair toys with us with the intro to a couple of them, playing a momentary "schlocky" intro, and then proceeding to make a swinging jazz statement with the rest of the tune. Oh, and about that "swinging lightly" part. This album does that in spades, thanks to Ms. Adair and a very supportive rhythm section. In fact, this album can be described with a word not often used these days--"danceable." You will want to gather up your significant-other and head for the dance floor with this one. "Sensually swinging" probably is the best term.

Finally, a word about a couple of specific tunes: One of my '50's favorites is here, "Hey There." Ms. Adair starts this one out with the ending few bars, played "straight," then delves into the tune from the beginning, with a very danceable rhythm, nice improvisations, beautiful chording, and a tight rhytm section throughout--a refreshing treatment. Another is "So Rare." This tune was Jimmy Dorsey's last attempt at a "pop hit"--coming after big bands had already severely declined in popularity. By most jazz standards, "So Rare" was very "commercial" and schlocky, and there was pretty widespread thinking that Dorsey thought it was, too. Nonetheless, it became one of the few big band commercial successes in the 1950's. As Dorsey played it, I never really liked it because of its "commercial" bent. So, when I started to listen to Adair's version, I was not expecting much. Sure enough, she starts it out very "straight," seemingly not veering from the commercial "line." But then, as she plays, you realize that she is taking it a different direction, making a very pleasant and entertaining jazz excursion, once again swinging with that rhythm section, nice chording, surprising us once again.

This is a versatile album. It can be played at the cocktail party for a pleasant background and not many people may notice how "jazzy" it really is. You can play it for a jazz aficianado and watch them light up and say, "Hey, check that out." Or, you can use it for a romantic evening with that special person. It's all good.

PS--Check out Adair's other albums. More "chestnuts" to be found there.

Begie Adair has a style all her own and just makes you feel the tempo. She is a fabulous pianist. I love all her music. It goes from jazz to dreamy to pop and everything in between. I just love her and have most of her CDs.